


An Angel's Spark

by Zennistrad



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Innistrad, Kamigawa, One Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:16:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8042242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zennistrad/pseuds/Zennistrad
Summary: All living beings with a soul posses a small yet meaningful chance of being born with an essence of immense power: the planeswalker's spark. But for angels, artificial beings of pure mana, being born with a spark remains an impossibility. When an Angel of Flight Alabaster encounters a dying planeswalker on Innistrad, however, she nonetheless finds herself gifted with a planeswalker's limitless potential.A short one-shot exploring a simple question: what if an angel could become a planeswalker? Takes place at around the same time as Conflux, before the events of the first Innistrad block.





	An Angel's Spark

The glow of the twilight sun cast a blanket of gentle light over the Kessig countryside. The Feast of Goldnight was a sacred time in Innistrad: for two days, the sun would remain just above the horizon, casting away the myriad horrors that lurked the night. It was a time of celebration for the humans who called the provinces home, a time when Avacyn’s power was at its peak. Though the Flight of Goldnight was most strongly associated with the Feast, the angels of the Alabaster Flight celebrated the occasion as well, taking advantage of the reinforced wards to visit the more remote provinces.

As she flew over the farmlands, Lorena couldn’t help but feel contented. In all other times, her work was tireless, guiding the souls of the deceased to the Blessed Sleep, ushering them back into the aether from which they came. But during the great Feast, the violent deaths that pervaded Innistrad waned, and the humans lived in a momentary peace. Such a respite gave them happiness and security, without threatening the delicate balance Avacyn had tasked the angels with preserving.

A gentle smile crept across her face. In the millennia since she began her duty, seeing the joy the Feast of Goldnight gave to humankind brought a warmth to her heart.

This time, however, something was amiss. Amid the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded Kessig, she felt a single disturbance. It was a disturbance that Lorena was all too familiar with: a mortal soul meeting a gruesome end.

Confusion bubbled up within her, quickly turning to outright dread. How could a human be killed during this time, when all the monsters of Kessig were in full retreat from Avacyn’s might?

One thing was for certain: she could not leave the disturbance alone. Someone was suffering, and it would be cruel to deny them the Blessed Sleep. She furrowed her brow and narrowed her sights on the disturbance’s location, descending into a clearing just outside the dense forests surrounding the farmland.

What she saw was unlike anything she could have ever anticipated. Lying on the muddy ground was a horned beast with the stature of a man. He wore a shining suit of armor, similar to those worn by the cathars of the Church of Avacyn, and a large broadsword lay unsheathed on the ground beside him. Adorning his chestplate were several sigils, the purpose of which Lorena could not discern. The sigils were stained with blood, which poured from a gaping claw mark that had torn through the armor easily.

The creature stared at Lorena with pleading eyes. Despite his beastly appearance, Lorena could feel a soul within him. It was not the corrupted soul of a vampire or lycanthrope, but a soul just like that of a human.

“You would concern yourself with the life of a lowly rhox?” the beastman spoke. “You are not like the angels of my homeland.”

Lorena knelt down beside the beastman. Her uncertainty melted away, and she gazed into his eyes with deepest sympathy.

“Do not be afraid. I will relieve you of your pain.”

The beastman coughed violently, blood spewing forth from his mouth. “It is… too late for me,” he wheezed. “You must… carry on… my legacy.”

“Save your strength,” said Lorena. “It will ease your journey into the Blessed Sleep.”

The beastman ignored Lorena’s advice, and continued. “Within my soul is… the power to move beyond. Take my spark. Find Bant. The demons.. they… they…”

The beastman’s words cut off as he lapsed into another violent coughing fit. Lorena placed a hand on his shoulder. At her touch, a subtle yet powerful magic coursed through her and into his body. The coughing slowed to a wheeze, then into a series of shallow breaths, then finally into nothingness. As the last of the life within him faded, his eyes closed, never to be opened again.

Lorena wondered, briefly, what the beastman’s last words meant. In her many centuries of living had seen nearly everything there was to see on Innistrad, yet she knew of nothing like anything she had just seen or heard.

The question did not remain on Lorena’s mind for long. Even if he was not human, the beastman suffered just as a human would. His soul was in need of her guidance.

With a wave of her hand, Lorena coaxed the beastman’s spirit out of his body. His cadaver gasped, and a wisp of ethereal white mist poured out of his mouth, rising into the air. With another wave of her hand it dissipated, becoming one with the aether itself.

As the soul dissolved into nothingness, Lorena noticed something else lingering in the air where it had vanished. It was a small mote of light, barely perceptible to the naked eye, yet within it she could feel an incredible power. As she stared at it, the beastman’s final words came forward to the front of her mind.

The Spark. The power to move beyond.

Curiously, Lorena reached out towards the mote, and grasped it in her hand.

It was then that all of her perceptions exploded in a burst of radiant light.

* * *

Lorena wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Judging from the pain that wracked her body, it was apparent that she was still alive, but she could not perceive anything else about her surroundings. For what seemed like an eternity she lay in agony, unable to see, hear, or even move.

When the pain finally began to recede, Lorena realized that she was lying on a soft surface, her wings uncomfortably folded beneath her. As she opened her eyes, she found the light to be blinding, though it did not take long for her vision to adjust itself.

She found herself in an ornately-decorated room, its architecture unlike anything else she had ever seen. Wooden lanterns with intricate patterns carved into them hung from the ceiling, and the far wall was adorned with beautiful tapestries, depicting artworks in a style that Lorena had never even conceived of. A number of shelves were placed near the other walls, each containing a large selection of scrolls, and across from the doorway was a small desk for studying. Beside the bed she lay on was a window, but beyond it there were nothing but clouds as far as the eye could see.

As she stared at the room in breathless wonder, a woman entered through the door dressed in fanciful robes. She looked close to human, but her complexion was impossibly pale, and her ribbonlike ears hung low from the sides of her head.

“Oh, you’re awake!” the woman said. “I was beginning to worry. I have a lot of questions to ask, and I’m sure you have plenty of your own.”

Lorena opened her mouth, then closed it again. In such a strange situation, she was not entirely sure she wasn’t dreaming. After a prolonged pause, she finally found the proper words within herself.

“Where… where am I? And who are you?”

The long-eared woman smiled. “My name is Tamiyo, and this is Kamigawa.”

**Author's Note:**

> **Lorena of the Alabaster     2WW**
> 
>  
> 
> Planeswalker — Lorena
> 
> +1: Exile up to three cards from target player's graveyard.  
> -2: Destroy target creature. Its controller creates a 1/1 white spirit creature token.  
> -7: You get an emblem with "1W: Exile each creature you control, then return each card exiled this way to the battlefield under your control."
> 
> Loyalty: 4


End file.
